Committee: 80% of haredim to join IDF, national service
Minister Mofaz reveals some recommendations by committee tasked with finding alternative to Tal Law; thousands of ultra-Orthodox will be recruited to police, Prison Service, while 20% will be exempt as part of 'torato emunato' deal
Eighty percent of haredim who are eligible for army service will be recruited to the IDF or to various national service frameworks in each recruitment cycle, while the remaining 20% will receive exemptions based on religious studies, according to the recommendations of a committee tasked with finding alternatives to the Tal Law and regulating the haredim's military service.
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Minister Shaul Mofaz, who presented the Plesner Committee's recommendations during a meeting of his Kadima faction on Monday, said thousands of haredim will serve in non-military institutions such as Israel Police, the Israel Prison Service and the Fire Services.
The minister said the remaining 20% of ultra-Orthodox will be exempt from IDF or any other service in accordance with the "torato emunato (Torah is his profession)" arrangement.
The recommendations, which have yet to be published, have also been presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Last week MK Nissim Zeev of the religious Shas party, which is against the committee's activity, sent it a letter proposing a number of possible solutions, including establishing Hesder yeshivas in the army to allow yeshiva students to serve and study Torah simultaneously, as many traditional Jews do.
"Should the committee accept this solution, many (yeshiva students will join the army) and the existing gaps will be reduced," he said.
Over the past few days the Plesner Committee's apparent recommendations have drawn harsh criticism. Some 20 female officers, including high ranking reservists, sent the committee a letter warning that the mass recruitment of ultra-Orthodox soldiers will have an adverse effect on women serving in Israel's armed forces.
The women said that such a move would eventually increase the exclusion of women in the military and infringe on their rights.
MK David Rotem of the rightist Yisrael Beitenu party said he did not believe the committee's activity would result in a dramatic change to the IDF recruitment law.
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